Wilkes guilty of bribing 'Duke'

SAN DIEGO - A Poway defense contractor bowed his head Monday as
a federal jury found him guilty on all counts that he bribed former
North County Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

The verdict in Brent Wilkes' trial marked the first time a jury
has decided a criminal case emerging from the Cunningham scandal,
the largest congressional bribery case in U.S. history. Other
convictions related to the bribery case, including one for
Cunningham, have come by way of guilty pleas.

Wilkes, standing with his hands in front of him as the court
clerk read the verdicts, shook his head occasionally as he listened
to the word "guilty" 13 times - once for bribery, once for
conspiracy, once for money laundering and 10 times for wire
fraud.

"I think he's shocked," Wilkes' attorney, Mark Geragos, said
after the verdicts were read. "I'm shocked. We didn't expect them
to convict."

Prosecutors have said the businessman faces about 20 years in
federal prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 28.

Cunningham, a Top Gun Navy pilot turned congressman turned
criminal, has been in federal custody since 2006, serving an
eight-year sentence for taking $2.4 million in bribes.

A shady house deal sparked the investigation that brought the
Republican politician down. Wilkes' links to the same deal helped
jurors convict the defense contractor, panelists said.

According to testimony, Wilkes started visiting Cunningham
regularly in 1997, right after the congressman took a seat on the
powerful House Appropriations Committee. The position allowed the
politician to set aside money for pet projects, like those handled
by Wilkes' company.

For seven years, prosecutors said, Wilkes bribed Cunningham to
set aside federal money for Wilkes' document scanning company,
plying the congressman with cash, gifts, lavish vacations and even
two encounters with prostitutes.

In exchange, Cunningham steered more than $80 million in defense
contracts to Wilkes' company, ADCS, Inc.

The celebrity defense attorney said he will fight to overturn
Wilkes' conviction, arguing his client was harmed by insider leaks
about Wilkes' indictment in January to at least two news reporters,
including one from the North County Times.

U.S. District Judge Larry Alan Burns set a Dec. 11 hearing to
probe that issue and to discuss any forfeiture of Wilkes'
assets.

Wilkes' conviction is the fourth in the Cunningham bribery
scandal.

The trial in the Cunningham scandal is not the end of the road
for Wilkes, who also faces charges that he bribed the No. 3 man at
the CIA to win government contracts.

'Over the top'

In addition to Wilkes' conviction at trial, the investigation
into Cunningham's bribery netted three guilty pleas: that of the
congressman, another defense contractor and a New York businessman
behind a money laundering scheme to help Wilkes pay off
Cunningham's house.

A fourth man, John Michael, is still awaiting trial, accused in
the same money laundering scheme tied to Cunningham's mortgage.

It was the politician's house purchase, coupled with the sale of
his previous home, that led to a San Diego Union-Tribune story
about the congressman's questionable finances - and ultimately to a
criminal investigation.

Cunningham sold his Del Mar home for $1.675 million, or $700,000
more than its market value. The buyer was Mitchell Wade, a defense
contractor and former Wilkes associate.

The politician then used that money to buy a $2.5 million home
in Rancho Santa Fe. Prosecutors said Cunningham hit up both Wilkes
and Wade to pay the remaining mortgage on the new home.

The house deal may have provided prosecutors with the smoking
gun in their case, the jury forewoman said.

She pointed to the timing of the deal, and said it became
apparent that Wilkes laundered $525,000 to pay off Cunningham's new
home in Rancho Santa Fe.

Wilkes' company was struggling - he had even raided his
children's college accounts to make payroll. But he still insisted
on wiring $525,000 to a New York mortgage company, according to
testimony.

A few days later, a payment of $525,0000 paid off one of
Cunningham's mortgages.

"That really gave us a lot of pause," forewoman Smith-Kruck
said.

Another juror, who declined to give his name, also pointed to
the house payment as the most blatant act of bribery.

"I think that was over the top," said the man, who served as
Juror No. 4.

Wilkes blames Wade

Wilkes repeatedly denied the bribery allegations and testified
that his transactions with Cunningham were all legitimate dealings
with innocent explanations.

On the stand, the businessman blamed any shady dealings with
Cunningham on Wade, his one-time consultant, and on Joel Combs,
Wilkes' nephew and a high-level employee in his company.

Both Wade and Combs testified as key witnesses for the
prosecution. Wade took the stand as part of the deal he struck when
he pleaded guilty to plying Cunningham with $2.4 million in cash
and gifts. Combs testified with a grant of immunity.

Wilkes himself took the stand for a day and a half.

"It was very difficult to tell who was telling the truth,"
Smith-Kruck said.

The jury never heard from Cunningham, who sat in a jail cell
down the street during the trial. Even though taking the stand was
part of his plea deal, and both attorneys threatened to call him,
neither side called Cunningham to testify.

U.S. Attorney Jason Forge told the jury during closing arguments
that they didn't want to give country's "most corrupt politician" a
chance to testify in exchange for a reduced sentence.

Geragos said he didn't call Cunningham because he didn't need
his testimony, since prosecutors had not proven their case.

Not hearing from the politician at the center of the case caused
"a little bit" of concern, "but not a whole lot," foreperson
Smith-Kruck said.

She said the jury pored through hundreds of pages of evidence,
including contracts and money wires, e-mails and receipts.

'We will get it reversed'

Geragos, Wilkes' attorney, said he plans to fight the conviction
on the grounds that grand jury indictments were illegally leaked to
the press, which Geragos said robbed Wilkes of a fair trial.

Geragos said the only remedy for the leaks is a dismissal of
Wilkes' conviction.

"I am confident we will get it reversed," Geragos said of
Wilkes' conviction.

Burns said he will hear arguments on the issue on Dec. 11 but
warned Geragos that even if he could prove there were leaks to the
press, he'd have an uphill battle to prove that the leaks harmed
his client at trial.

Geragos said he will subpoena reporters to force them to reveal
their sources on the stand. Geragos has previously pointed at
reporters from the Associated Press and the North County Times.

North County Times editor Kent Davy said Monday that the
newspaper will fight any effort to put its reporter on the
stand.

"I don't know what Geragos will do one way or another," Davy
said. "If our reporters are subpoenaed in this case, we will oppose
it."